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Chat Noir's P.O.V

My lungs are short of air. My limbs are aching tenfold than before. The side of my face still stings—burns—from the scratch marks. My world is slightly spinning, probably due to a large amount of blood I have lost.

Yet, I need to keep going! I don't have any time for a break. People are in trouble, a victim needs saving, Marinette could be in danger, and there's a hunk of sharp-teethed fish on my tail!

"How did this situation become so messed up?" I think, nearly getting my foot bit off by a shark. I hit the animal with my baton, using its state of confusion to escape. Hoping I attracted all the sharks remaining in the hallways, I turn the last two corners before returning to the art room.

I just need to get through the room and press the button on the remote. Then, I will have achieved victory—and Syren is blocking my pathway.

Syren malevolently grins, knowing she has me trapped.

"End of the line, Chat Noir," she muses. I hesitate to continue but I don't have time to think. The sharks will be here any second.

So, I charge and release a battle cry.

Syren seems baffled by my sudden recklessness and takes a moment to process what's happening. I use these few seconds to tackle by a non-expecting akuma. The sharks begin to fill the room in seconds flat. I grab the remote from my belt and pedal-to-the-medal out of the room.

One last stroke out of the room, I pressed the button once I barely made it past the room's archway. The black bars that wrongly imprisoned me the first time slam into the floor. A few of the faster sharks ram into the bars while the others split into two different directions. They fearfully swim around the room in circles, trying to find a way out.

Syren regains her composure and glared at me. I don't stick around any longer, rushing out of the building. Syren's angry voice echoes from the room, something about getting revenge...or shark stew? Maybe, she actually said shark food.

Whatever. I don't know, nor do I care or even hear her anymore. I left the museum and open the tracker on my pole. Ladybug's symbol is blinking on the screen still in the same place since I last checked. I swim to the surface and jump onto the roof of a building.

I sprint and vault in the direction the symbol blinks. People are standing on the rooftops, watching me hustle and cheering me on. Every once in a while, I check to make sure I'm still heading in the right direction.

I'm completely exhausted, already passing my limits. My vision is noticeably dizzy and my body is worn down from swimming for my life. But I have to get to Marinette. I need to make sure she is okay. She has to be okay! I don't know what I would do if something bad happens to her.

I open my baton again.

My heart stops. I can feel a different sort of coldness rush through my veins. My breath catches in my throat.

Ladybug's symbol is no longer on the screen.

"No..." I say, shaking my head in disbelief, "...no no no no no no NO NO NO!"

I desperately run faster, needing to get to Ladybug—to Marinette. I can't lose her! She means too much to me! She's one of the best people in my life!

"I need you to be okay, Marinette!" I yell in my head, "I...I think...I think might..."

Before I can even finish my thoughts, a flash of red suddenly makes an appearance right in front of my face. I immediately come to a stop, causing me to fall back on my butt. I breathe heavily, feeling the weight of exhaustion starting to settle.

"Chat Noir! Thank goodness I found you!"

Floating in front of my face is Marinette's Kwami, Tikki. I perk up, my bone-tired state being shoved to the side and replaced with an overwhelming feeling of worry. If Tikki is here, this gives me a definite answer that Marinette is in trouble.

   "Tikki, where's Marinette?" I ask, not wasting any more time than I am already.

   "She's in...she's trapped in the...mall's elevator," Tikki feebly says. She staggers to stay afloat but is slowly hovering down. I catch the ladybug Kwami before she suddenly stops levitating and falls.

   I didn't notice how weak Tikki looks until now. Her antennas are limp instead of having their usual perkiness. The bug's color seems to be a bit of a paler red or a very dark shade of pink. Her dull, half-lidded eyes slowly close shut and breathing slows down.

   "Tikki!" I start to panic, thinking the worst of the Kwami of creation's current situation.

   "I'll...be okay. Just need...rest," she reassures, "Need to save...Marinette and..."

   Tikki didn't finish, already dozing off into a deep slumber. My flustered state settled only slightly, knowing the Kwami will be okay. I didn't try to wake her, letting her get some much-needed rest.

   Yet, Marinette is in danger. I need to save her before it's too late! I can't lose her. I can't lose another person I deeply care for...not again. She's practically all I have left. I have to go now!

   Without any more hesitation, I sprint in the direction of the mall as fast as my powers can go, carrying Tikki in my hand (making sure not to squeeze the life out of her). Even though my muscles ache from all the swimming, running, and jumping from roof to roof; my lungs feel as though they are on fire, and worn down past my limits, I didn't stop for anything.

   "Just wait a little longer. I'm almost there, Marinette," I say, not sure if I'm trying to reassure or motivate myself. I just know to get there and save my princess.

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Marinette's P.O.V

   The entire elevator is finally filled with water, forcing Mallorie and me to hold our breath. Mallorie's locks of dark hair sprawl out, floating as if in zero-gravity. She continues to panic, hitting and kicking the wall in a desperate attempt of escaping. Her foggy mind doesn't realize that it will only have consequences for her in the end.

   I move over to her and stop her assault on the elevator wall. Mallorie has the face of a traumatized and scared child—and might just be. I have her face me. I place my hands on her shoulders as a way of comfort, trying to make her see that she isn't alone in this.

   "I'm here," I say in my head, "I'm scared too but what you're doing isn't any good. It'll just wear you out faster. Look, I know you can't read my mind and all—and I probably look weird for staring at you for so long—but I know Chat Noir will save us. We just have to endure until he gets here."

   Mallorie stares back at me, a million things she could be thinking about right now. Her pride seems to overcome her, even in a state of panic, pulling out of my grip. She twists her body around and faces the other direction. Her silver eyes anxiously look everywhere (except in my direction) for a way out.

I return to the top of the elevator and try opening the hatch again. I'm already having trouble holding my breath. It won't be much longer until we both aren't able to hold it or pass out from lack of oxygen. There's a pounding in my head and my ears sting from water entering them.

The elevator light flickers off, covering the small area in a blanket of pitch darkness. I can't see anything even if it's inches in front of me. Bubbles of nerves swirl in my stomach. I use my hands as a way to see but I don't know what I'm touching. I jerk my hand back when a stinging pain zips through my finger.

I hold my cut hand close, seeking some form of comfort and curl into a ball. I'm probably floating away from the hatch. I don't know if I'm upside down or sideways or angled in any way. The only thing I can tell is the limited time I have left. I can't tell how Mallorie is doing. Is she okay? Did she already drown? Is she still panicking?

I start feeling lightheaded and struggling to keep holding my breath. I cover my mouth, hoping—praying, for a miracle to happen.

"Chat Noir...please..."

I can't tell if I closed my eyes or not, just drifting and feeling...light. A warm sensation enwraps my body like a welcoming hug. My mind is at...peace and submitting to the depths of the water's embrace. It isn't at all cold or painful, just relaxing. No troubles. No worries. No stress. The weight of the world and all my burdens have gone away. Nothing to fear even in the void of black. Only peace and comfort.

Then, a blur of light for a few seconds before returning to darkness.

Mama?

Chat Noir's P.O.V

I land on top of the mall. There are crowds of people standing on top of the roof, talking and taking pictures of me. Many of them have questions, ones I expected. Where's Ladybug? Why hasn't Paris been saved yet? Where's the akuma?

I ignore all their questions and ask my own, "Does anyone know where the elevator is and how to get to it?"

A guy dressed in maintenance clothes appears from the crowd, "I do."

"Show me and do it fast. We don't have much time left," I say, a seriousness in my tone and mixed with undoubtedly fear. The nods in understanding and pushes past people. I quickly follow behind until we reach a big ventilation shaft.

"Go down into here, take a right and go straight. You'll reach the elevator shafts," he instructs me. I give a firm nod, tattooing the instructions in my brain.

   I pull the metal cover off of the shaft. Water sloshes around inside the ventilation shaft, the liquid's levels near the top. My nerves heighten once realizing how small the vent is. I wince, clenching the grate in my hands tightly. Luckily, the vent is big enough for two, regular-sized men. Yet, my claustrophobia says otherwise. I was never one for small, enclosed spaces.

   The one time Marinette hid me in her closet, I had to focus on something—anything to get my mind off of the situation. I probably would have hyperventilated if I didn't eavesdrop on Marinette and her dad's conversation. I did feel guilty about listening in on something that was not meant for my ears. Yet, I don't regret it either.

   I release a breath, placing the grate down with a clang. I don't have time to hesitate or have second thoughts. Marinette's life is in danger!

   She could already be dead.

   I shove that thought into the back of my mind. There is no way. Marinette will not die on my watch!

   I give the maintenance guy Tikki, asking him to carefully watch her (coming up with an excuse of the Kwami being a fragile-like toy). Clearing my racing mind (except for the directions), I dive headfirst into the vent. There's no room to stroke my arms so I rely on slightly kicking my feet. I do my best to focus on Marinette instead of the tiny...suffocating...cramped...walls closing in-

   I shake my head, accidentally hitting the side of the vent. I re-concentrate on my mission once again. The darkness does not affect my vision, able to see through the water's darkness. I finally reach the bottom and take a right, going in the direction that guy told me.

I can see a bit of an opening ahead and continue on. I reach the opening and swim out of the vent, able to relax a bit. Keywords: a bit. The first thing I see is the elevator cables before looking down. Right there, the elevator sits. An unnerving feeling settles when seeing it.

I hurriedly swim to it. If it wasn't for my enhanced hearing, I would have missed the noises coming from the inside.

"Marinette!" I call, hoping for some sort of reply. But I don't get anything. The noises suddenly stop, causing my heart to drop.

"Cataclysm," I desperately call my power. My deathly touch quickly collides with the hatch and turns it into rusty ashes.

The first thing I see is Marinette lifelessly laying on the floor.

"MARINETTE!"

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